Display device

ABSTRACT

A liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a liquid crystal sandwiched between the substrates, and a display region. A hole portion is formed in the display region. A first seal portion is formed to surround the display region. A second seal portion is formed to surround the hole portion. The first and the second seal portions seal the liquid crystal. The second seal portion has a first end portion on the liquid crystal side and a second end portion on the opposite side of the liquid crystal side. A sealing material is present in the first end portion. A sealing material is present in the second end portion. A wall-like spacer is formed between the first and the second end portions to surround the hole portion. The wall-like spacer defines the gap between the first and the second substrates.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application ciaims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2016-020679 filed on Feb. 5, 2016, the content of which is herebyincorporated by reference into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display device having a regionsurrounded by a display region.

Description of the Related Art

A liquid crystal display device includes a thin film transistor (TFT)substrate and a counter substrate disposed opposite to the TFTsubstrate. The TFT substrate includes pixels each having a pixelelectrode, a TFT, and other elements in a matrix configuration. The TFTsubstrate is attached to the counter substrate with a sealing materialformed on the edge portions of the substrates. On the inner side of thesealing material, a liquid crystal is sandwiched between the TFTsubstrate and the counter substrate. Images are formed by controllingthe light transmittance of liquid crystal molecules in each pixel.

In thin, flat display devices, such as liquid crystal display devices,there is a demand that a space (a hole) penetrated through a regionsurrounded by a display region is provided and the hole is used forfixing the display region or for providing another member. In otherwords, for convenience of the manufacturing process steps of the liquidcrystal display device, it is efficient to form holes on the TFTsubstrate and the counter substrate at the same time.

In the display, as techniques of forming holes on a glass substrate,there is a technique in which a hole is formed on one of the glasssubstrates configuring a plasma display device and the hole is used asan exhaust hole or an inlet hole for a gas, such as Ne and Xe. JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-305672 describes atechnique of forming an exhaust hole on one of the glass substrates of aplasma display device using a drill having diamond abrasive grains.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A space (in the following, also referred to as a hole) surrounded by thedisplay region of a screen is formed after the completion of a liquidcrystal display panel. In other words, a sealing material is formed on aportion corresponding to the outer shape of the hole, and holes areopened on a counter substrate and a TFT substrate the same time using aglasscutter, a glass drill, or other devices. In order to open the holeson the counter substrate and the TFT substrate at the same time, it isdesirable to form a sealing material on at least a portion from whichglass is cut.

On the other hand, since it is inefficient to form liquid crystaldisplay panels one by one, a large number of liquid crystal displaypanels are formed on a mother substrate, and the mother substrate isseparated into individual liquid crystal display panels by scribing.Scribing is a method in which portions corresponding to the outer shapesof the liquid crystal display panels are scribed and an impact isapplied to the scribed portions to cut glass. Therefore, no sealingmaterial is preferably present on the scribed portions.

In other words, a seal portion that defines the outer shape of theliquid crystal display panel has a seal structure different from theseal structure of a seal portion formed on the hole portion on theliquid crystal display panel. For example, in the liquid crystal displaypanel, after a liquid crystal is dropped onto the display region, amother counter substrate is attached to a mother TFT substrate in areduced pressure, and then the mother substrates are returned in theatmosphere. The reason why the pressure is reduced is that no bubbles tobe contained when the liquid crystal is sealed.

After the mother substrates (a plurality of liquid crystal displaypanels) are returned from the reduced pressure to the atmosphere, thesubstrates are deformed. However, degrees of deformation are differentamong the outer seal portion, the display region, and the hole sealportion. Specifically, in the hole seal portion, a problem arises inthat the liquid crystal is entered between the seal portion and thesubstrates. The present invention is to cope with this problem.

The present invention is to solve the problem.

Main specific schemes are as below. In other words, an aspect of thepresent invention a liquid crystal display device including: a firstsubstrate; a second substrate; and a liquid crystal sandwiched betweenthe first and the second substrates. In the liquid crystal displaydevice, on the first substrate and on the second substrate, a holeportion is formed. On the first substrate and on the second substrate, afirst seal portion is formed on an outer side of a display region.Between the hole portion and the display region, a second seal portionis formed. The second seal portion has a first end portion on the liquidcrystal side and a second end portion on the hole portdon side. Asealing material is present on the second end portion. Between the firstend portion and the second end portion, a spacer is formed so as tosurround the hole portion, and the spacer defines a gap between thefirst and the second substrates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display device according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a state before a hole portion is removed;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a liquid crystal dropping process in the casein which the present invention is not used;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a TFT substrate isattached to a counter substrate under a reduced pressure in the case inwhich the present invention is not used;

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of a state of the TFT substrate andthe counter substrate under an atmospheric pressure in the case in whichthe present invention is not used;

FIG. 6A is a plan view of a liquid crystal dropping process according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a TFT substrate isattached to a counter substrate under a reduced pressure according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view of a state of the TFT substrate andthe counter substrate under an atmospheric pressure according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a pian view of a region near a hole portion according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of another embodiment of the shape of a wall-likespacer;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of still another embodiment of the shape of thewall-like spacer;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an exemplary shape of a groove of an organicpassivation film of a hole seal portion;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of another example of a shape before a holeportion is formed; and

FIG. 12 is a plan view of an example of a rectangular hole portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display panel to which anembodiment of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a TFTsubstrate 100 is attached to a counter substrate 200 with a sealingmaterial 50, and a liquid crystal is sandwiched between the TFTsubstrate 100 and the counter substrate 200. The TFT substrate 100 isformed great than the counter substrate 200. A portion where only theTFT substrate 100 is provided is a terminal portion 150. On the terminalportion 150, a driver IC 1501 that drives a liquid crystal display panelis mounted, and a flexible circuit board 1502 that supplies power,picture signals, scanning signals, and the like is connected to theliquid crystal display panel.

In FIG. 1, in the display region 60, scanning lines 1 extend in a firstdirection, and are arrayed in a second direction. Picture signal lines 2extend in the second direction, and are arrayed in the first direction.A region surrounded by the scanning lines 1 and the picture signal lines2 is a pixel 3. The TFT substrate 100 is attached to the countersubstrate 200 with a sealing material 50 of a first seal portionsurrounding the display region 60 on the edge portions of the liquidcrystal display panel and with a sealing material 50 of a second sealportion surrounding a hole portion 70 in the center. Both of a width wsof the first seal portion and a width wf of the second seal portion areabout 0.8 mm.

The configurations of the first and the second seal portions aredifferent. In the first seal portion, on the outermost part of thecounter substrate 200, a bank-like spacer 20 is formed, and on the innerside of the hank-like spacer 20, the sealing material 50 is formed. Thereason why the bank-like spacer 20 is formed on the outermost part isthat in separating liquid crystal display panels out of a mothersubstrate by scribing, the sealing material on scribed regions is to beexcluded.

On the other hand, in the second seal portion around the hole portion onthe liquid crystal display panel 70, the sealing material 50 is formedup to the end portion, a wall-like spacer 10 is formed in a circularshape in the inside of the sealing material 50 so as to surround thehole portion. The configuration of the second seal portion is a featureof the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1. On theleft side of FIG. 2, the second seal portion that is the hole sealportion is shown. On the right side of FIG. 2, the first seal portionlocated on the end portion of the display region. Components on thesecond seal portion side in FIG. 2 will be described. In FIG. 2, on theTFT substrate 100, a wiring layer 101, an organic passivation film 102,and an upper layer structure 103 are formed. A groove 1021 is formed onthe organic passivation film 102 at the seal portion, and the organicpassivation film 102 is discontinued. The groove 1021 is formed forpreventing moisture from being externally entered to the display regionthrough the organic passivation film 102. Note that, in the embodimentof the present invention, the groove 1021 of the organic passivationfilm 102 can be used for adjusting the width of the sealing material 50.

On the counter substrate 200, a black matrix 201, a color filter 202, anovercoat film 203, the wall-like spacer 10 that defines the gap betweenthe TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 in the seal portion,a columnar spacer (a main spacer) 30 that defines the gap between theTFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 in the display region, asub-spacer 40, and other components. The black matrix 201 in the sealportion has a function as a light shielding film. A groove 2011 isformed on the black matrix 201 in the seal portion. The groove 2011blocks moisture externally entered along the black matrix 201. In ordernot to leak light from the groove 2011 on the black matrix 201, a metallight shielding film 104 is formed at corresponding locations on the TFTsubstrate 100 side.

In FIG. 2, the TFT substrate 100 is attached to the counter substrate200 with the sealing material 50.

The hole seal portion is characterized in that the sealing material 50is formed up to the end portion. This configuration is provided forallowing the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 to beprocessed at the same time in removing the hole portions using a drillwith abrasive grains, for example, after the liquid crystal displaypanel is formed. In the inside of the sealing material 50, the wall-likespacer 10 is formed to define the gap between the TFT substrate 100 andthe counter substrate 200. Forming the wall-like spacer 10 in the insideof the hole seal portion is a feature of the embodiment of the presentinvention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wall-like spacer 10 is formedaround with no break.

In the hole seal portion, the sealing material contacts the liquidcrystal. On the counter substrate 200 side of the display region, theblack matrix 201 is formed. On the holes of the black matrix 201, a redfilter 202R, a green filter 202G, and a blue filter 202B are disposed.The overcoat film 203 is formed covering the black matrix 201 and thecolor filter 202.

In the display region, the columnar spacer 30 is formed on the overcoat,film 203 to define the gap between the counter substrate 200 and the TFTsubstrate 100. The sub-spacer 40 has a function that prevents the gapbetween the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 from beingexcessively small when a pressure is externally applied to the countersubstrate 200 by a finger, for example, and a function that acceleratesthe velocity of returning the gap to the original state.

The right side of FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first sealportion formed on the edge portion of the liquid crystal display panel.The configurations of the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate200 are similar to ones described on the left side of FIG. 2. On the endportion on the right side of FIG. 2, the bank-like spacer 20 is formedon the overcoat film 203 on the counter substrate 200. The bank-likespacer 20 is provided for easily separating the liquid crystal displaypanels in separating the liquid crystal display panels out of the mothersubstrate by applying an impact after scribed. As illustrated in FIG. 1,the bank-like spacer 20 is formed around the display region with nobreak.

On the right side of FIG. 2, in the inside of the sealing material 50 ofthe first seal portion, a columnar spacer 30 is formed. The columnarspacer 30 is the same as the columnar spacer 30 in the display region.The configuration of the display region is the same on the right sideand the left side of FIG. 2. The configuration of the seal portion isdifferent between the first and the second seal portions.

In the following, the configuration of the hole seal portion, which is afeature of the embodiment of the present invention, will be described.FIG. 3 is a plan view of the configuration of the hole seal portion inFIG. 1, before the hole portion is removed. In FIG. 3, the sealingmaterial 50 and a dummy sealing material 55 are concentrically formed. Alinear sealing material 56 connecting the sealing material 50 to thedummy sealing material 55 is provided for drawing the sealing materialwith a single stroke with a dispenser. A dotted circle 51 in FIG. 3 is amark indicating the start of drawing the sealing material with thedispenser.

A dotted circle 80 in the sealing material 50 in FIG. 3 is a cuttingline. This portion is cut using a cutter with diamond abrasive grains,for example, to remove the circular portion. A feature is in that thecutting line 80 is present in the inside of the sealing material 50 forseparating the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 at thesame time. The circular sealing material 55 on the inner side isprovided for improving workability so that the materials on the endparts of the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 arepresented from falling apart.

In FIG. 3. the wall-like spacer 10 is formed in a circular shape on thedisplay region 60 side of the cutting line 80. The wall-like spacer 10is formed on the overcoat film 203 on the counter substrate 200 side. Onthe outer side of the wall-like spacer 10, the sealing material 50 ispresent. The region on the outer side of the sealing material 50 is thedisplay region 60. The display region 60 is filled with the liquidcrystal.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 3. In FIG.4, the region on the right side of the cutting line 80 is a region to beleft as the liquid crystal display panel. The region on the left side ofthe cutting line 80 is the hole portion 70 to be removed. As illustratedin FIG. 4, the cutting line 80 is present in the region in which thesealing material 50 is formed. In the inside of the sealing material 50on the liquid crystal side of the cutting line 80, the wall-like spacer10 is formed to define the gap between the TFT substrate 100 and thecounter substrate 200 in the seal portion. The wall-like spacer 10 has atrapezoidal cross section. A width wt of the upper base is about 10 μm.As illustrated in FIG. 3, the wall-like spacer 10 is formed around withno break. The width of the sealing material 50 after the hole portion isformed is about 0.8 mm. Thus, a plurality of wall-like spacers 10 can beformed as necessary. A liquid crystal 300 is sealed on the displayregion 60 side of the sealing material 50. In the display region 60, thecolumnar spacer 30 is formed for defining the gap between the TFTsubstrate 100 and the counter substrate 200.

The region on the left side of the cutting line 80 is a dummy region. Onthe dummy region, the region between the sealing material 50 and thedummy sealing material 55 is a space. No spacers are necessary for thedummy sealing material 55. However, the wall-like spacer 10 may beformed as depicted by a dotted line so that the dummy sealing materialdoes not affect the gap between the substrates in the display region.The region on the left side of the dummy sealing material 55 is again aspace.

In a manufacturing method for the liquid crystal display device, thesealing material 50 for attaching the TFT substrate 100 to the countersubstrate 200 is formed on the edge portion of the counter substrate200, i.e., in the seal portion. After that, the liquid crystal isdropped in the reduced pressure. The TFT substrate 100 is attached tothe counter substrate 200 in the reduced pressure, and then thesubstrates are returned in the atmospheric pressure. In this process,the sealing material, the columnar spacer, and the liquid crystal arecompressed in the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the TFT substrate100 and the counter substrate 200 are deformed. Depending on how tocompress the sealing material, the columnar spacer, the liquid crystal,and other components at this time, the deformation of the substrates isvaried. Thus, this causes a phenomenon in which the liquid crystal isentered between the sealing material 50 and the TFT substrate 100 orbetween the sealing material 50 and the counter substrate 200.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are schematic diagrams for explaining this problem. FIG.5A is a plan view of the counter substrate 200 corresponding to theregion near a cross section taken along line C-C in FIG. 3. In FIG. 5A,the cutting line 80 is present in the sealing material. Note that, thecutting line is not marked in the sealing material. In the inside of thesealing material 50, the columnar spacer 30 is formed for maintainingthe gap between the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 inthe seal portion. The region on the left side of the sealing material 50is the hole portion 70.

On the other hand, the region on the right side of the sealing material50 is the display region 60. On the portion, the columnar spacer 30 isformed for defining the gap between the TFT substrate 100 and thecounter substrate 200. A liquid crystal drop 301 is dropped onto theregion on the display region 60 side of the sealing material 50 in thereduced pressure. After that, the TFT substrate 100 is attached to thecounter substrate 200 in the reduced pressure. After the attachment, theliquid crystal drop 301 is spread over the entire display region 60.Note that, the liquid crystal drop 301 is dropped at a plurality ofsites in the display region.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the seal portion showing a state inwhich the TFT substrate 100 is attached to the counter substrate 200 inthe reduced pressure. The gap between the counter substrate 200 and theTFT substrate 100 is maintained by the columnar spacer 30 in the displayregion and the columnar spacer 30 in the seal portion, and the gapbetween the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 is constant.As described above, the reason why the attachment and dropping areperformed in the reduced pressure is that no air is to be contained inthe liquid crystal display panel.

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of a region near the seal portion inthe case in which the liquid crystal display panel in the state of FIG.5B is returned in the atmosphere. When the panel is returned in theatmosphere, a pressure is applied to the TFT substrate 100 and thecounter substrate 200. Since the liquid crystal 300 is filled in thedisplay region 60, the gap between the TFT substrate 100 and the countersubstrate 200 is not greatly changed. On the other hand, in the sealportion, the sealing material 50 is easily compressed by the atmosphere,because the volume of the sealing material 50 is small and the space isprovided on the left side of the sealing material 50. Although thecolumnar spacer 30 is formed in the seal portion as well, the columnarspacer 30 does not have repulsion force enough to resist the atmosphericpressure.

When the sealing material 50 is compressed, in the cross section of theliquid crystal display panel, a gap h3 between the TFT substrate 100 andthe counter substrate 200 in the seal portion is smaller than a gap h4in the display region, resulting in a barrel cross section. When thecross section is a barrel cross section, a phenomenon occurs in whichthe liquid crystal 300 is entered to the interface between the sealingmaterial 50 and the TFT substrate 100, or the interface between thesealing material 50 and the counter substrate 200. In FIG. 5C, arrowsindicate this phenomenon. As described above, when the liquid crystal300 is entered between the sealing material 50 and the substrates, theadhesive strength of the seal portion is decreased to degrade thereliability of the liquid crystal display panel. Moreover, the gap ofthe liquid crystal layer is affected near the sealing material,sometimes causing a degraded display quality.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining measures for this problemaccording to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a planview of the counter substrate 200 corresponding to a region near thecross section taken along line C-C in FIG. 3. The state in FIG. 6A issimilar to the state in FIG. 5A except that the wall-like spacer 10 ispresent in the inside of the sealing material 50. The configuration inwhich the wall-like spacer 10 is present in the inside of the sealingmaterial 50 is completely different from the configuration of the firstseal portion on the outer edge of the liquid crystal display panel. Ofcourse, a configuration like the configuration is not present in thedisplay region as well.

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the TFT substrate100 is attached to the counter substrate 200 in the reduced pressure. InFIG. 6B, the gap between the counter substrate 200 and the TFT substrate100 is defined by the columnar spacer 30 in the display region 60, andthe gap is defined by the wall-like spacer 10 in the seal portion. Theother configurations in FIG. 6B are similar to ones described in FIG.5B.

FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the liquid crystaldisplay panel illustrated in FIG. 6B is returned in the atmosphere. FIG.6C is most different from FIG. 5C in that a gap h1 is maintained betweenthe TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 in the seal portionwith almost no influence of the atmospheric pressure on the gap. Inother words, the wall-like spacer 10 is formed in the inside of the sealportion, and the strength of the wall-like spacer 10 against compressionis much stronger than the strength of the columnar spacer 30.

On the other hand, in the display region 60, compressive stress isapplied to the liquid crystal 300 by the atmospheric pressure. Thecolumnar spacer 30 formed in the display region 60 has insufficientresistance to compressive force as well. Consequently, thecross-sectional topology of the liquid crystal display panel is aso-called deformed bobbin in which the gap h2 between the TFT substrate100 and the counter substrate 200 in the display region 60 is smallerthan the gap h1 in the seal portion.

In the case of this deformed bobbin, in the portion near the sealportion, the gap h1 in the reduced pressure, which is the original gap,is maintained between the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate200. Thus, as a whole, the volume of accommodating the liquid crystal isgreater than the volume in FIG. 5C, and the force of entering the liquidcrystal to the interface between the sealing material 50 and the TFTsubstrate 100, or the interface between the sealing material 50 and thecounter substrate 200 is smaller than the force illustrated in FIG. 5.

The compressive force of the atmospheric pressure applied to the sealingmaterial 50 also has a distribution in which the liquid crystal 300 isnot easily entered between the sealing material 50 and the substrates.In other words, a pressure to compress-bond the substrates and thesealing material 50 is generated. Accordingly, a defect, in whdch theliquid crystal 300 is entered to the interface between the sealingmaterial 50 and the TFT substrate 100 or the interface between thesealing material 50 and the counter substrate 200, can be avoided. Asdescribed above, with the use of the embodiment of the presentinvention, the adhesive strength of the seal portion can be stablymaintained, and the reliability of the liquid crystal display panel canbe secured.

Another merit of according to the embodiment of the present invention isthat the cross section of the liquid crystal display panel is a bobbinshape, i.e., the TFT substrate 100 or the counter substrate 200 isprojected on the inner side. When this shape is formed, variations inthe gap between the substrates of the liquid crystal display panel canbe made smaller in the case in which a pressure is externally applied.In other words, the substrates are already deformed in the direction thesame as the direction in which a pressure is external applied to thesubstrates. Thus, even though an external pressure is applied, thesubstrates are already in the state in which they are hardly furtherdeformed. This is a great advantage in the case in which a touch panelfunction is imparted to the liquid crystal display panel, this.

The width wf of the sealing material 50 is about 0.8 mm, whereas thewidth of the wall-like spacer 10 is about 10 μm. Thus, a plurality ofwall-like spacers 10 can be disposed in the inside of the sealingmaterial 50. FIG. 7 shows this example. FIG. 7 is a plan viewillustrating only a portion corresponding to the sealing material 50 inFIG. 3. In FIG. 7, the region on the inner side of the dotted cuttingline 80 in the inside of the sealing material 50 is a portion removedwith a glass cutter, for example.

Two wall-like spacers 10 are concentrically formed in the inside of thesealing material 50 on the display region 60 side of the cutting line80. The sealing material 50 is present between the two wail-like spacers10. The sealing material 50 is present on both sides of the twowall-like spacers 10. The two wall-like spacers 10 are present. Thus,the gap in the seal portion can be more stably maintained, and thephenomenon, in which the liquid crystal is entered between the sealingmaterial and the counter substrate or between the sealing material andthe TFT substrate, can be prevented.

The number of sites, on which the wall-like spacer is provided, may bethree or more as necessary. The wall-like spacer 10 can besimultaneously formed by the same process of photolithography with thesame material when the columnar spacer is formed in the display region60. Thus, no process load is increased even though a plurality ofwall-like spacers 10 is formed.

In the forming process of the seal portion, the wall-like spacer 10 isformed in advance in the seal portion of the counter substrate 200 byphotolithography, and the sealing material 50 is disposed in the sealportion covering the wall-like spacer 10 with a dispenser. The liquidcrystal is dropped onto the region on the display region 60 side of thesealing material 50. After that, the TFT substrate 100 is attached tothe counter substrate 200. At this time, the sealing material 50 ispressed by the TFT substrate 100, and spread in a predetermined width.In the spreading, the sealing material 50 is excluded from between thewall-like spacer 10 and the TFT substrate 100.

However, in some cases, the sealing material 50 is not completelyremoved from between the wall-like spacer 10 and the TFT substrate 100,and the sealing material 50 is sometimes left. The sealing material leftbetween the wall-like spacer 10 and the TFT substrate 100 is a factor tovary the gap between the counter substrate 200 and the TFT substrate100. Therefore, in order to stably maintain the gap between the TFTsubstrate 100 and the counter substrate 200, no sealing material 50 ispreferably left between the wall-like spacer 10 and the TFT substrate100.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an example of the wall-like spacer 10 coopingwith this problem. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the planar shape ofthe wall-like spacer 10 is formed being bent in a saw shape. Thewall-like spacer 10 may be bent in a wave shape. The sealing material 50is formed covering the wall-like spacer 10 formed in the seal portion ofthe counter substrate 200 with a dispenser, and then the TFT substrate100 is attached. The sealing material 50 is pressed by the TFT substrate100, and the sealing material 50 is removed from between the wall-likespacer 10 and the TFT substrate 100. When the wall-like spacer 10 isformed in the shape as in FIG. 8, oblique force is applied to thesealing material 50, and the sealing material 50 is easily moved betweenthe wall-like spacer 10 and the TFT substrate 100 as depicted by arrowsin FIG. 8. Accordingly, when the wall-like spacer 10 is formed in theshape as in FIG. 8, the gap between the TFT substrate 100 and thecounter substrate 200 in the seal portion can be further stabilized.

Moreover, in the wall-like spacer 10 as in FIG. 8, since the area of thewall-like spacer 10 in a planner view is increased, the wall-like spacer10 as in FIG. 8 also has an effect that can further increase thecompressive stress of the wall-like spacer 10. Accordingly, the gapbetween the TFT substrate 100 and the counter substrate 200 in the sealportion can be further stabilized.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the sealing material 50 has to be present onboth sides of the wall-like spacer 10, and the sealing material 50 hasto be present also on both sides of the cutting line 80. This means thatwhen viewed in the cross section taken along line C-C in FIG. 3, theposition of the wall-like spacer 10 is often not matched with the centerof the sealing material 50. In the case in which the sealing material 50in a large amount is formed on one side of the wall-like spacer 10, thesealing material 50 insufficiently flows to the other side of thewall-like spacer 10 even though the sealing material 50 is pressed bythe TFT substrate 100. This causes the width of the sealing material tobe unstable, resulting in a degraded reliability of the seal portion.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the wall-like spacer 10 cooping with thisproblem. In FIG. 9, a first wall-like spacer 11 is non-consecutivelyformed at a first gap g1, and a second wall-like spacer 12 isnon-consecutively formed at a second gap g2. Supposing that even in thecase in which the sealing material 50 formed with a dispenser is formedin a large amount on one side of the wall-like spacers 11 and 12, thesealing material 50 can flow through the gap between the wall-likespacers when pressed. Accordingly, the width of the sealing material 50can be further stably formed.

In FIG. 9, a width w11 of the first wall-like spacer 11 is the same as awidth w12 of the second wall-like spacer 12, and the gap g1 between thefirst wall-like spacers 11 is the same as the gap g2 between the secondwall-like spacers 12, which are w11>g1 and w12>g2. However, anydimensions are possible. Dimensions may be determined by taking intoaccount of the elastic force (repulsion force) of the wall-like spacerand the flowability of the sealing material.

In FIG. 9, the wall-like spacers are formed in two rows. However, thewall-like spacers may be formed in one row. Also in this case, the widthof the wall-like spacer is preferably greater than the gap between thewall-like spacers. For example, w11>g1 is desirable. In FIG. 9, thewall-like spacers are formed in two rows. However, the wall-like spacercan be formed in three rows or more.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of still another embodiment of a hole sealportion before the hole portion is formed. In FIG. 10, the sealingmaterial 50 and the wall-like spacer 10 are similar to ones in FIG. 3.FIG. 10 is different from FIG. 3 in that the groove 1021 of the organicpassivatdon film 102 in FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 10. The embodimentillustrated in FIG. 10 is characterized in that the width of a widenedgroove 1222 of the organic passivation film 102 is wider than the widthof the other portions in a portion corresponding to a connecting portion56 connecting the sealing material 50 to the dummy sealing material 55in drawing the sealing material 50 with a single stroke.

In drawing the sealing material with a single stroke, the amount of thesealing material 50 is increased on a portion where the sealingmaterials 50 are overlapped with each other, causing the width of thesealing material 50 to be irregular on the portion. In FIG. 10, in orderto prevent this problem, the width of the groove 1021 of the organicpassivation film 102 is increased on the portion where the sealingmaterials 50 are overlapped with each other, accommodating an excessamount of the sealing material 50 in the widened groove 1222 of theorganic passivation film 102. Thus, the width of the sealing material 50can be stabilized.

The width of the widened groove 1222 of the organic passivation film istypically about 100 μm. However, in FIG. 10, the width of the widenedgroove 1222 of the organic passivation film 102, which is widened in thegroove 1021 is about 200 μm. In FIG. 10, a forming region wg, in whichthe widened groove 1021 of the organic passivation film 102 is formed,has a width almost the same as the width of the sealing material, whichis about 0.8 mm. The organic passivation film 102 is formed to have athickness as thick as a thickness of 2 to 4 μm. Thus, the volume ofaccommodating the sealing material 50 in the portion of the widenedgroove 1222 of the organic passivation film 102 is considerably large.Note that, the width and forming region of the groove 1021 of theorganic passivation film 102 only have to be adjusted being matched withthe width, amount, and other parameters of the sealing material to bedrawn with a single stroke.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of still another embodiment of the hole sealportion. FIG. 11 is different from FIG. 3 in that the sealing material50 is also formed in the dummy region continuously to the seal portion.In other words, in FIG. 11, the sealing material 50 is formed in a diskshape. The sealing material 50 in this shape can be formed by printing,for example. The sealing material 50 is formed in the shape asillustrated in FIG. 11. Thus, the seal portion can be uniformly formedin the entire hole portion. In FIG. 11, the region on the display region60 side of the cutting line 80 is similar to the region in FIG. 3, andthe description is omitted.

In FIGS. 1 to 11, the hole portion 70 is described to have a circularshape. However, the content described in FIGS. 1 to 11 is alsoapplicable to the case in which the hole portion is in a polygon, not acircular shape, for example, which is a rectangular hole 70 asillustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a plan view of a hole seal portionafter the dummy sealing material is cut. In FIG. 12, the sealingmaterial 50 is present at the end portion of the second seal portion soas to surround the hole seal portion. In the inside of the sealingmaterial 50, the wall-like spacer 10 is formed around with no break. Forthe cross-sectional topology and other configurations of the hole sealportion, the configurations described in FIGS. 1 to 10 can be similarlyused.

In the description above, the wall-like spacer is formed on the countersubstrate side. However, the wall-like spacer may be formed on the TFTsubstrate side. In this case, taking into account of process loads, thecolumnar spacer is also desirably formed on the TFT substrate side. Aconfiguration with no bank-lite spacer 20 may be possible. In this case,a configuration may be possible in which the sealing material isprovided to be terminated on the inner side of the end portion of thesubstrate, or a configuration may be possible in which the sealingmaterial is left in the scribed region.

In the description above, as illustrated in FIG. 2, for example, thedescription is made on the premise of an In-Plane Switching (IPS) liquidcrystal display device. However, the embodiment of the present inventionis also applicable to liquid crystal display devices in other modes,such as twisted nematic (TN) and vertical alignment (VA) liquid crystaldisplay devices.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a TFT substrate having an organic passivation film and pixels in a display region; a counter substrate having a black matrix; and a first sealing material, wherein the TFT substrate and the counter substrate are fixed by the first sealing material, each of the TFT substrate and the counter substrate includes a penetrated hole, the penetrated hole is located inside of an outer shape of the TFT substrate and an outer shape of the counter substrate, the first sealing material surrounds the penetrated hole, the first sealing material is located between the display region and the penetrated hole, the black matrix has a first groove, and the first groove surrounds the penetrated portion and overlaps the first sealing material.
 2. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the organic passivation film has a second groove, the second groove surrounds the penetrated hole and overlaps the sealing material, and the first groove overlaps the second groove.
 3. The liquid crystal display device of claim 2, wherein a width of the first groove is smaller than a width of the second groove.
 4. The liquid crystal display device of claim 2, wherein the counter substrate further has a color filter, the color filter is directly on the black matrix, the color filter overlaps first sealing material, and the first groove is between a portion of the color filter and the penetrated hole.
 5. The liquid crystal display device of claim 4, wherein the counter substrate further has overcoat film and a spacer, the overcoat film covers the first groove and the color filter, the spacer is directly on the overcoat film, and the spacer overlaps the portion of the color filter and the first sealing material.
 6. The liquid crystal display device of claim 5, wherein the spacer is a wall-like spacer, and the wall-like spacer surrounds the penetrated hole.
 7. The liquid crystal display device of claim 6, wherein the TFT substrate further has a metal light shielding film, and the metal light shielding film overlaps the first groove.
 8. The liquid crystal display device of claim 7, wherein the second groove has a first region and a second region, a first region overlaps the metal light shielding film, and a second region does not overlap the metal light shielding film.
 9. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the black matrix has a first portion and the second portion, the first portion and the second portion overlap the first sealing material, the first portion and the second portion are split by the first groove, the first portion is between the penetrated hole and the first groove, and the second portion is between the first groove and the display region.
 10. The display device of claim 9, further comprises a second sealing material, wherein the TFT substrate and the counter substrate are fixed by the second sealing material, the second sealing material formed along the outer shape of the TFT substrate or the outer shape of the counter substrate, and the second sealing material surrounds the display area. 